Gus gulped down his orange juice and grabbed the freshly made croissant from the top of the oven, all in one swift move. It amazed Justin how eagerly the boy would rush out of the house to get to school. But then so did JR, who was already standing at the front door waiting for her big brother. Justin could hear the sound of a car horn in the driveway as he walked from the kitchen toward the front of the house. He was amused at the way both teens wrestled for control of the doorknob and the chance to get it open and rush out to the drive. Justin was well aware that Jason was the object of all the excitement. He knew JR had a big crush on the boy and that Gus was in love with Jason's vehicle, a mint condition 2007 Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin in a bright cherry red color. The car was ten years old but one would never know. Even in the freezing cold weather that they were experiencing in the Pitts right now, you could see Gus and Jason out in the drive giving the car a loving rub down and cleaning every weekend. Sometimes the two younger sisters would join their brothers, unless they were out at the mall.
It had been a month and a half since the teens had moved in with DB and DJ, and life had quickly settled into a comfortable routine. Brian's company, Kinnetik, was doing record business. He had sold Babylon for a hefty profit when he had gotten back together with Justin for good so that he could concentrate on Kinnetik and the man he loved... not that the two men didn't still make an occasional visit to the place that held so many memories for them. Of course, they didn't have very much time for that kind of thing any more, but life certainly wasn't dull anyway. Justin's talent was appreciated more than ever and he had to go from one commissioned piece to another on a very steady basis.The best part of their new life was how well the teens had fit in. They both adored their two dads and respected Daddy Michael (known as DM to the kids), a lot. They felt a great deal of affection for Daddy Ben (now DBB), but he was unable to spend much time with them. He had suffered a series of set backs and was weaker than ever. The kids saw less and less of DM because of it, since Michael was a devoted husband who hated leaving his mate's side for even an hour. Grandma Debbie had rallied recently, in part, from the joy in seeing the young ones, and the teens visited her as often as they could.
Both siblings had easily formed a circle of friends in no time at all. Gus had quickly become a star on the swimming team and JR had joined the drama club... something the dads teased her that she was perfectly suited for. Their best friends, just as Brian and Justin had suspected that first day of school, had turned out to be the brother and sister team of Jason and Gidget Tyler. It amused Brian that Gus' best friend would have a name so similar to the one that his best friend had, but of course he doubted that their friendship would have the same perks that Brian had with Justin.
Jason and Gidget had become familiar faces around the Kinney/Taylor household. They were there almost every weekend, including many overnight stays. It was only natural that Jason, who owned his own car that he worked hard to pay for himself, would offer to give Gus and JR rides to school every day. Everyone recognized the foursome as they pulled into the parking lot every morning. A vast majority of the eighth grade girls envied both JR and Gidget for their luck in having such cute brothers and brother's best friend. The two girls were often the center of attention as the other girls fished for stories on what it was like to have the two cutest Seniors in school around all the time. Neither of the young ladies were above exaggerating some of their tales.Gus and Jason were very much aware of the flirting that their sisters were extending to their best friend, but it was looked on as a joke rather than a nuisance. Luckily, the girls were so wrapped up in their mall hopping and giggling on the phone with other friends that they didn't become as much trouble as they certainly could have been. Both boys were certainly grateful that their sisters were thirteen. At that age they never stayed focused on any one thing or person for very long.
The kids were most excited right now because a planned Christmas vacation trip was coming up in a week and DB had gotten permission from Mr. and Mrs. Tyler to take Jason and Gidget with them for a four day skiing holiday in Vermont between Christmas and New Years, which they were more than willing to agree to once Brian made it clear that he'd be paying all expenses. They trusted that Jason would take good care of his little sister and Brian's innate charm didn't hurt in securing the agreement. Today was the last day left before the two and a half week school holiday would begin.
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Jason leaned over and opened the door of his truck so that Gus could hop in. His little sis, Gidget, kept bouncing in her seat in the back eager to share the newest gossip that she and JR hadn't already talked about on the phone the previous night. The minute JR and Gus were seated, Jason peeled out of the drive and headed for St. James. Everyone was eager to get the day over so that their vacation could begin. The boys had lots of plans for things to do and the girls were excitedly waiting to hit the malls for some last minute Christmas shopping. Jason pulled into his assigned parking spot in the school lot just in time to see Terry, his wrestling team mate, getting out of his beat up old jalopy with several of his favorite hangers on. He had gotten along reasonably well with the known bully because of their team affiliation until Gus had entered the picture. For some unfathomable reason that only Terry could know, the wrestler had taken an instant dislike to Gus and seemed to resent anyone who became his friend. He particularly resented it that Jason never spent any time with the wrestling posse any more and was always hanging with Gus instead. Terry had never actually been threatening to the guys, but he was rude and obnoxious to them whenever he could be.
Terry's favorite taunt had to do with questioning Gus' manhood, making snide remarks about how he liked to watch Jason wrestle an awful lot. The innuendo was clear but in case Jason didn't get it, Terry came right out and warned Jason to watch his back cause he thought Gus was a little too fond of his 'best friend'. Jason had learned long ago to ignore such comments. He had always been a very small built youngster and was sickly with heart problems when growing up. When he was thirteen he had some corrective surgery that improved his heart condition immensely. He took up body building to improve his health and physique. This led to a Freshman teacher suggesting he take up wrestling and judo. Jason loved it and the bullying that he'd suffered up until high school had become a distant memory. The one good thing that had come from his miserable early school years was the ability to tolerate and deal with taunts and the idiots who made them.
Jason could tell that the taunting was a lot more disturbing to Gus. It was obvious that he had never had to deal with that kind of treatment before. Gus had told him about his best friend, Heather, and how close they had been. Jason had felt a twinge of jealousy but only because he was already completely aware that he was gay and he had developed a secret crush on Gus. It had been a delightful surprise when he discovered who Gus' parents were. Jason had wanted to sit down with Brian and Justin and talk to them about what it was like to be openly gay in the adult world but refrained from doing so since Gus had never brought the subject of his two dads up in any of their many conversations. The truth was, that he wasn't even sure if Gus was straight or not and, even though he was sure Gus would never judge him, he didn't want to take a chance on losing his friendship by admitting his feelings. Unless Gus made the first move, Jason would keep his thoughts about that to himself.
The foursome got out of the vehicle and headed for the school entrance. They had almost made it to the door when they could hear Terry and his gang calling out from behind them.
"Hey, Jason! I see you have all your girls with you."
Jason turned around and faced Terry a few steps below him. "And I see you have yours," he answered back
A couple of the bigger boys behind Terry started to rush forward, anger in their eyes, but Terry held them back with his arm. Terry was no fool and he knew that a fight on the front steps of the school was a sure fire way to lose his scholarship to the University and he might have been a bully but he was no moron.
"Let's leave the little ladies to their play time, boys," he growled, pushing his way past the foursome. His posse followed close behind, giving the evil eye as they passed.
Jason and Gus stared at the retreating backsides of the small gang, looked at each other, and burst into laughter. The girls joined in once they realized that the threat was gone. Jason bowed in a sweeping gesture to the other three and mockingly said, "shall we enter the hallowed halls of learning... ladies?"
Gus laughed even harder and the four teens turned and strutted into the front door.
The rest of the day went by quickly and happily without further incidents. The only thing on all four minds, as they got back into Jason's truck, was the fun they were going to have for the next eighteen days. Not one of them could know that their lives would change dramatically by the time the eighteen days were up. If they had they might not have been so carefree in their attitudes.
To be continued.....................